Chapter 21
Now he was saying them when I had almost stopped needing them.
“I believe you feel something real,” I said.
His face tightened.
“But love isn’t only what you feel when someone leaves.”
I wiped my cheeks.
“It’s what you do while they’re still standing beside you.”
Vincent bowed his head.
I didn’t stay for dessert.
He walked me outside.
The evening air was cold.
Traffic moved along the wet street.
For a moment, we stood beneath the restaurant awning.
“I don’t want to lose you,” he said.
I looked at him.
“You already asked me to go.”
He swallowed.
“I know.”
I stepped toward the sidewalk.
“Mara.”
I turned.
He looked as though there were a hundred things he wanted to say.
Finally, he whispered, “I wish I’d understood sooner.”
I nodded.
“So do I.”
Then I walked away.
I cried in the taxi.
Quietly.
With my forehead against the window.
Because loving Vincent had not vanished the moment he asked for a divorce.
Because grief didn’t disappear just because I had made the right decision.
And because somewhere inside me, a younger version of myself still wanted him to run after the car and promise that everything could be different.
But he didn’t.
And I didn’t ask him to.
When I reached my apartment, I changed into comfortable clothes and sat at my desk.
My medical notes were waiting.
A practice assessment was scheduled for the following morning.
I opened the first page.
For several minutes, the words blurred.
Then I took a deep breath.
I picked up my pen.
And I began.
Chapter 5: The Life He Could Never Buy Back
The divorce became final several months later.
There was no dramatic courtroom confrontation.
No reporters waiting outside.
No humiliating public spectacle.
Our attorneys handled the remaining details.
The property transfers were completed.
The financial arrangements were finalized.
And the marriage that had once seemed permanent came to an end through signatures and legal notices.
When Elise called to tell me everything was official, I was sitting at my kitchen table surrounded by study materials.
“It’s done,” she said.
I looked at the window.
Outside, Manhattan was moving through another ordinary morning.
People were rushing to work.
Coffee shops were opening.
Traffic lights changed.
Somewhere, people were falling in love.
Somewhere else, they were saying goodbye.
The world didn’t stop because my marriage had ended.
“All right,” I whispered.